BIO Grandmother Francine

Grandmother Francine is an Algonquin grandmother, traditional knowledge keeper, and medicine woman deeply rooted in community, spirituality, and environmental advocacy. For many years, she has worked within the education system to guide and support teachers in delivering First Nation, Métis, and Inuit curriculum, helping foster understanding and reconciliation.

A traditional keynote speaker, Grandmother Francine has been a dedicated Water Walker for nearly twenty years, raising awareness about the sacredness and critical importance of clean water. Her voice has been heard both locally and internationally—in 2018, she was invited to speak at the United Nations Pre-Session in Geneva, Switzerland, where she represented the Anishinabe Grandmothers’ Water Walkers in defense of our collective human right to clean water.

In 2013, she contributed a chapter on Water to the book Words of Peace in Native Land, and she has authored numerous articles in French on health, education, and climate change.

Her community involvement, spiritual grounding, and unwavering commitment to water protection define her as a true Anishinabe kwe grandmother—one who walks her talk. Through her work, Grandmother Francine inspires reflection, responsibility, and reconnection with the land, water, and ancestral knowledge.